Ex-cop's sex case halted when teen too distressed'

A Warren teenager testified Tuesday she was too upset to answer whether her relationship with a retired police officer who worked at her school, turned romantic.

The 16-year-old girl, who attends Warren Woods-Tower High School, sat silently for several seconds when asked repeatedly in court about a change in her relationship with former Warren police officer Dale Wayne Malesh, 62.

“I’m too emotionally distressed to answer,” said the teen, whose name is not being published by The Macomb Daily.

Malesh, of Roseville, faces two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He retired from the Warren Police Department in January 2011, having spent the last 11 years of his law enforcement career as a school resource officer in Warren Woods Public Schools, where he had the nickname “OD” for “Officer Dale.”

After Malesh left the police force, school district officials hired him as a school security contractor.

According to court records, Warren police and prosecutors allege that sexual penetration occurred in February and March. The teen turned age 16 last August. The age of consent in Michigan is 16.

However, county prosecutors allege Malesh violated a section of Michigan’s criminal sexual conduct law that prohibits anyone from using their status to gain access to, or establish a sexual relationship with, a student between 16 and 18 years of age.

At 37th District Court on Tuesday, the teenager cried and left Judge Dean Ausilio’s courtroom moments before Malesh, held in lieu of $150,000 bond, took a seat next to his attorney for the start of his preliminary hearing. After taking the witness stand, the girl said she met Malesh while attending Warren Woods Middle School. She said they talked about bullies while at the high school, sometime in the halls and occasionally in his office at the school.

She said they exchanged phone numbers last year and that she texted to him, a photo that included her, two friends and Malesh. The teen testified Malesh requested other photos of her, so she sent to him a homecoming picture from last October.

Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Nicole Blank asked the girl whether she saw Malesh at any setting outside school other than a school-sponsored camp.

“I don’t feel comfortable answering that,” said the high school junior, adding that she didn’t want to discuss details in front of courtroom observers.

The judge ordered everyone other than police, attorneys, court staff and a reporter to leave the courtroom. After the judge reminded her that she was under oath and had an obligation to testify, the girl twice said she was too distressed to answer questions about whether her relationship with Malesh turned romantic.

Malesh’s attorney, Steven Kaplan, argued that all of her testimony should have been stricken from the court record. Ausilio refused.

The judge adjourned the case to May 21, when the teen is expected back on the witness stand. When Ausilio reminded her about her oath, the teen replied: “I’m not lying.”

Kaplan unsuccessfully requested that Malesh’s $150,000 bond be reduced, saying his client could provide 10 percent of a $50,000 bond and would wear an electronic tether monitoring his location.

“He has not indicated he’s going to flee the jurisdiction,” Kaplan added. “He’s not a dangerous man. He has roots in the community.”

Vito Malesh told the court that if his father is able to post bail, he will know his father’s whereabouts and ensure that he shows up for future court dates.

Blank opposed any possible bond reduction, claiming that text messages between the accused retired officer and the teen indicated that Malesh had mentioned her age to his son.

Following Malesh’s arraignment on April 12, the girl told The Macomb Daily her relationship with him is consensual. She also called the criminal charges “ridiculous” and “overblown.”